Scheduling of downlink transmissions based on exchanges of pre-scheduling and scheduling messages

ABSTRACT

Techniques are described for wireless communication. An exemplary method includes receiving, at a first device, a pre-scheduling message for a downlink transmission from a second device; transmitting a scheduling message to the second device in response to receiving the pre-scheduling message; and receiving the downlink transmission in accordance with the at least one downlink transmission parameter of the scheduling message. The scheduling message may include at least one downlink transmission parameter. Another exemplary method includes transmitting, to a first device, a pre-scheduling message for a downlink transmission; receiving, from the first device, a scheduling message comprising at least one downlink transmission parameter; and transmitting the downlink transmission to the first device in accordance with the at least one downlink transmission parameter of the scheduling message.

CROSS REFERENCES

The present Application for Patent is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/881,996 by Ji et al., entitled, “Scheduling ofDownlink Transmissions Based on Exchanges of Pre-Scheduling andScheduling Messages” filed Oct. 13, 2015, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/133,211 by Ji et al., entitled“Scheduling Downlink Transmissions Based on Exchanges of Pre-Schedulingand Scheduling Messages,” filed Mar. 13, 2015, assigned to the assigneehereof, and expressly incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure, for example, relates to wireless communicationsystems, and more particularly to techniques for scheduling downlinktransmissions based on exchanges of pre-scheduling and schedulingmessages.

Description of Related Art

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide varioustypes of communication content such as voice, video, packet data,messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be multiple-accesssystems capable of supporting communication with multiple users bysharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, andpower). Examples of such multiple-access systems include code-divisionmultiple access (CDMA) systems, time-division multiple access (TDMA)systems, frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) systems,single-carrier frequency-division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, andorthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) systems.

By way of example, a wireless multiple-access communication system mayinclude a number of base stations, Wi-Fi access points, or other nodes,each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple communicationdevices, which each may be referred to as a user equipment (UE). A basestation or Wi-Fi access point may communicate with UEs on downlinkchannels (e.g., for transmissions from a base station or Wi-Fi accesspoint to a UE) and uplink channels (e.g., for transmissions from a UE toa base station or Wi-Fi access point).

Because a base station or Wi-Fi access point may simultaneouslycommunicate with multiple UEs, and may have more information on networkor backhaul loading, the scheduling of transmissions on both downlinkchannels and uplink channels may be performed by the base station orWi-Fi access point for all of the UEs with which it communicates.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure, for example, relates to one or more techniquesfor scheduling downlink transmissions based on exchanges ofpre-scheduling and scheduling messages. Although a base station or Wi-Fiaccess point may communicate with multiple UEs and have more informationthan a UE on network or backhaul loading, scenarios are arising in whichunilateral scheduling of downlink transmissions by base stations, Wi-Fiaccess points, and other transmitters is causing an increasingpercentage of non-acknowledgements (NAKs) of downlink transmissions byUEs, undesired power use, interference, and other issues at a UE. Forexample, when a UE is operating in a multi-connectivity mode, thescheduling of traffic for multiple component carriers may be scheduledunilaterally by a base station or Wi-Fi access point, despite one ormore radios of the UE being used for other purposes or being exposed tointernal or external interference. This may increase the percentage ofNAKs transmitted by the UE. As another example, when a UE iscommunicating using multiple radios and multiple radio accesstechnologies (RATs), the unilateral scheduling of traffic by a basestation or Wi-Fi access point may not account for in-device coexistence(IDC; e.g., radio frequency (RF) coexistence) of the multiple radiosand/or RATs used by the UE. This may also increase the percentage ofNAKs transmitted by the UE.

As another example, a UE may operate in accordance with a power savingprofile that is not known by a base station or Wi-Fi access point, andunilateral scheduling of downlink transmissions by the base station orWi-Fi access point may interfere with the UE's implementation of itspower saving profile. As another example, a UE may attempt to coexistwith other devices within its energy detection range, and unilateralscheduling of downlink transmissions by a base station or Wi-Fi accesspoint may interfere with the UE's ability to coexist with the otherdevices. The techniques described in the present disclosure provide foran exchange of pre-scheduling and scheduling messages between a basestation (or Wi-Fi access point) and a UE, which may enable the UE tospecify or restrict some or all of the aspects of a downlinktransmission.

A method for wireless communication is described. The method may includereceiving, at a first device, a pre-scheduling message for a downlinktransmission from a second device; transmitting a scheduling message tothe second device in response to receiving the pre-scheduling message;and receiving the downlink transmission in accordance with the at leastone downlink transmission parameter of the scheduling message. Thescheduling message may include at least one downlink transmissionparameter.

An apparatus for wireless communication is described. The apparatus mayinclude means for receiving, at a first device, a pre-scheduling messagefor a downlink transmission from a second device; means for transmittinga scheduling message to the second device in response to receiving thepre-scheduling message; and means for receiving the downlinktransmission in accordance with the at least one downlink transmissionparameter of the scheduling message. The scheduling message may includeat least one downlink transmission parameter.

Another apparatus for wireless communication is described. The apparatusmay include a processor, memory in electronic communication with theprocessor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions maybe executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to receive, at afirst device, a pre-scheduling message for a downlink transmission froma second device; to transmit a scheduling message to the second devicein response to receiving the pre-scheduling message; and to receive thedownlink transmission in accordance with the at least one downlinktransmission parameter of the scheduling message. The scheduling messagemay include at least one downlink transmission parameter.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executablecode for wireless communication is described. The code may be executableby a processor to receive, at a first device, a pre-scheduling messagefor a downlink transmission from a second device; to transmit ascheduling message to the second device in response to receiving thepre-scheduling message; and to receive the downlink transmission inaccordance with the at least one downlink transmission parameter of thescheduling message. The scheduling message may include at least onedownlink transmission parameter.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, or non-transitorycomputer-readable medium may include steps, features, means, orinstructions for operating the first device in a multi-connectivity modeusing a plurality of radios of the first device, where the at least onedownlink transmission parameter of the scheduling message identifies asubset of radios of the plurality of radios.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, or non-transitorycomputer-readable medium, the pre-scheduling message may identify atransmission type, and the method, apparatuses, or non-transitorycomputer-readable medium may include steps, features, means, orinstructions for selecting the subset of radios based at least in parton the transmission type.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, or non-transitorycomputer-readable medium may include steps, features, means, orinstructions for identifying an availability of each radio in the subsetof radios, where the at least one downlink transmission parameter of thescheduling message includes the identified availability of each radio inthe subset of radios. In some examples of the method, apparatuses, ornon-transitory computer-readable medium, the identified availability ofeach radio in the subset of radios may include at least a time domainavailability, or a frequency domain availability, or a combinationthereof.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, or non-transitorycomputer-readable medium may include steps, features, means, orinstructions for communicating at the first device using a plurality ofradios and a plurality of radio access technologies of the first device,and identifying an availability of at least one radio in the pluralityof radios, where the at least one downlink transmission parameter of thescheduling message includes the identified availability of the at leastone radio. In some examples of the method, apparatuses, ornon-transitory computer-readable medium the identified availability ofthe at least one radio may include at least a time domain availability,or a frequency domain availability, or a combination thereof. In someexamples of the method, apparatuses, or non-transitory computer-readablemedium the identified availability of the at least one radio may bebased at least in part on a scheduling or interference of at least oneother radio in the plurality of radios.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, or non-transitorycomputer-readable medium, the downlink transmission may be received overa backhaul link, and the method may include steps, features, means, orinstructions for operating the first device as a relay for at least oneaccess link, and identifying an availability of at least one radio ofthe first device based at least in part on a scheduled use of the atleast one access link, where the at least one downlink transmissionparameter of the scheduling message includes the identified availabilityof the at least one radio. In some examples of the method, apparatuses,or non-transitory computer-readable medium, the identified availabilityof the at least one radio may include at least a time domainavailability, or a frequency domain availability, or a combinationthereof.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, or non-transitorycomputer-readable medium, the pre-scheduling message may include a pilotsignal, and the method, apparatuses, or non-transitory computer-readablemedium may include steps, features, means, or instructions forestimating an interference on a wireless channel based at least in parton the pilot signal, and identifying the at least one downlinktransmission parameter of the scheduling message based at least in parton the estimated interference. Some examples, the method, apparatuses,or non-transitory computer-readable medium may include steps, features,means, or instructions for estimating a duration of the interference,and identifying the at least one downlink transmission parameter of thescheduling message based at least in part on the estimated duration ofthe interference.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, or non-transitorycomputer-readable medium, receiving the pre-scheduling message mayinclude receiving at least a buffer status of downlink traffic for thefirst device, or an identification of a transmission type, or arestriction on scheduling the downlink transmission, or a combinationthereof.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, or non-transitorycomputer-readable medium, the at least one downlink transmissionparameter of the scheduling message may include at least a radiorestriction, or a carrier restriction, or a time restriction, or afrequency restriction, or a modulation and coding scheme (MCS)restriction, or a beamforming restriction, or a combination thereof.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, or non-transitorycomputer-readable medium, the at least one downlink transmissionparameter of the scheduling message may include at least a carrierrestriction, or a sub-band restriction, or a resource block restriction,or a combination thereof.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, or non-transitorycomputer-readable medium, the at least one downlink transmissionparameter of the scheduling message may include at least informationenabling the first device to satisfy a sleep schedule, or informationenabling the first device to satisfy a power usage ceiling, orinformation enabling the first device to defer use of a wideband datachain.

Another method for wireless communication is described. The method mayinclude transmitting, to a first device, a pre-scheduling message for adownlink transmission; receiving, from the first device, a schedulingmessage including at least one downlink transmission parameter; andtransmitting the downlink transmission to the first device in accordancewith the at least one downlink transmission parameter of the schedulingmessage.

Another apparatus for wireless communication is described. The apparatusmay include means for transmitting, to a first device, a pre-schedulingmessage for a downlink transmission; means for receiving, from the firstdevice, a scheduling message including at least one downlinktransmission parameter; and means for transmitting the downlinktransmission to the first device in accordance with the at least onedownlink transmission parameter of the scheduling message.

Another apparatus for wireless communication is described. The apparatusmay include a processor, memory in electronic communication with theprocessor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions maybe executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to transmit, to afirst device, a pre-scheduling message for a downlink transmission; toreceive, from the first device, a scheduling message including at leastone downlink transmission parameter; and to transmit the downlinktransmission to the first device in accordance with the at least onedownlink transmission parameter of the scheduling message.

Another non-transitory computer-readable medium storingcomputer-executable code for wireless communication is described. Thecode may be executable by a processor to transmit, to a first device, apre-scheduling message for a downlink transmission; to receive, from thefirst device, a scheduling message including at least one downlinktransmission parameter; and to transmit the downlink transmission to thefirst device in accordance with the at least one downlink transmissionparameter of the scheduling message.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, or non-transitorycomputer-readable medium may include steps, features, means, orinstructions for transmitting the downlink transmission upon determiningthat the at least one downlink transmission parameter of the schedulingmessage can be satisfied.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, or non-transitorycomputer-readable medium, the pre-scheduling message may include atleast a buffer status of downlink traffic for the first device, or atransmission type, or a restriction on scheduling the downlinktransmission, or a combination thereof.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, or non-transitorycomputer-readable medium, the at least one downlink transmissionparameter of the scheduling message may include at least a radiorestriction, or a carrier restriction, or a time restriction, or afrequency restriction, or a MCS restriction, or a beamformingrestriction, or a combination thereof.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, or non-transitorycomputer-readable medium, the at least one downlink transmissionparameter of the scheduling message may include at least a carrierrestriction, or a sub-band restriction, or a resource block restriction,or a combination thereof.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technicaladvantages of examples according to the disclosure in order that thedetailed description that follows may be better understood. Additionalfeatures and advantages will be described hereinafter. The conceptionand specific examples disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis formodifying or designing other structures for carrying out the samepurposes of the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do notdepart from the scope of the appended claims. Characteristics of theconcepts disclosed herein, both their organization and method ofoperation, together with associated advantages will be better understoodfrom the following description when considered in connection with theaccompanying figures. Each of the figures is provided for the purpose ofillustration and description, and not as a definition of the limits ofthe claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the presentinvention may be realized by reference to the following drawings. In theappended figures, similar components or features may have the samereference label. Further, various components of the same type may bedistinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a secondlabel that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the firstreference label is used in the specification, the description isapplicable to any one of the similar components having the same firstreference label irrespective of the second reference label.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system, inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows a subframe structure for use in a downlink transmissionreceived at a first device from a second device, in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 shows a wireless communication system in which LTE/LTE-A may bedeployed in a multi-connectivity scenario, in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 4 shows a wireless communication system in which a UE maycommunicate using a plurality of radios and a plurality of RATs, inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 shows a wireless communication system in which a first UE mayoperate as a relay for at least a second UE, in accordance with aspectsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 shows a wireless communication system in which a UE may operatein an environment with interference, in accordance with aspects of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of a device for use in wirelesscommunication, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of a device for use in wirelesscommunication, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of a device for use in wirelesscommunication, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 shows a block diagram of a UE for use in wireless communication,in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 shows a block diagram of a base station for use in wirelesscommunication, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for wirelesscommunication, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for wirelesscommunication, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for wirelesscommunication, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for wirelesscommunication, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for wirelesscommunication, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 17 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for wirelesscommunication, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Techniques are described in which a pre-scheduling message and ascheduling message are exchanged, between a base station or Wi-Fi accesspoint and a UE, before the base station or Wi-Fi access point schedulesa downlink transmission to the UE. The pre-scheduling message may betransmitted by the base station and may include, for example, a bufferstatus of downlink traffic for the UE, or an identification of atransmission type, or a restriction on scheduling the downlinktransmission, or a combination thereof. In response to receiving thepre-scheduling message, the UE may transmit the scheduling message tothe base station. The scheduling message may include at least onedownlink transmission parameter, such as a radio restriction, or acarrier restriction, or a time restriction, or a frequency restriction,or a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) restriction, or a beamformingrestriction, or a combination thereof. Upon receiving the schedulingmessage, the base station may transmit the downlink in accordance withthe at least one downlink transmission parameter. In this manner, the UEmay schedule (or assist in scheduling) the downlink transmission.

The following description provides examples, and is not limiting of thescope, applicability, or examples set forth in the claims. Changes maybe made in the function and arrangement of elements discussed withoutdeparting from the scope of the disclosure. Various examples may omit,substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. Forinstance, the methods described may be performed in an order differentfrom that described, and various steps may be added, omitted, orcombined. Also, features described with respect to some examples may becombined in other examples.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 100, inaccordance with aspects of the disclosure. The wireless communicationsystem 100 may include base stations 105, UEs 115, and a core network130. The core network 130 may provide user authentication, accessauthorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and otheraccess, routing, or mobility functions. The base stations 105 mayinterface with the core network 130 through backhaul links 132 (e.g.,S1, etc.) and may perform radio configuration and scheduling forcommunication with the UEs 115, or may operate under the control of abase station controller (not shown). In various examples, the basestations 105 may communicate, either directly or indirectly (e.g.,through core network 130), with each other over backhaul links 134(e.g., X1, etc.), which may be wired or wireless communication links.

The base stations 105 may wirelessly communicate with the UEs 115 via atleast one base station antenna. Each of the base station 105 sites mayprovide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area110. In some examples, a base station 105 may be referred to as a basetransceiver station, a radio base station, an access point, a radiotransceiver, a NodeB, an enhanced/evolved NodeB (eNB), a Home NodeB, aHome eNodeB, or some other suitable terminology. The geographic coveragearea 110 for a base station 105 may be divided into sectors making up aportion of the coverage area (not shown). The wireless communicationsystem 100 may include base stations 105 of different types (e.g., macroor small cell base stations). The base stations 105 may be configured tocommunicate with one or more communication technologies, where eachcommunication technology may have a geographic coverage area 110. Thegeographic coverage area 110 for a first communication technology mayoverlap with the geographic coverage area 110 for a second communicationtechnology, and the first and second communication technology may beassociated with the same base station 105, or different base stations105.

In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may include anLTE/LTE-A network. In LTE/LTE-A networks, the term evolved Node B (eNB)may be used to describe the base stations 105, while the term UE may beused to describe the UEs 115. The wireless communication system 100 maybe a Heterogeneous LTE/LTE-A network in which different types of eNBsprovide coverage for various geographical regions. For example, each eNBor base station 105 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell,a small cell, or other types of cell. The term “cell” is a 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) term that can be used to describea base station, a carrier or component carrier associated with a basestation, or a coverage area (e.g., sector, etc.) of a carrier or basestation, depending on context.

A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., severalkilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs withservice subscriptions with the network provider. A small cell may be alower-powered base station, as compared with a macro cell that mayoperate in the same or different (e.g., dedicated, shared, etc.) radiofrequency spectrums as macro cells. Small cells may include pico cells,femto cells, and micro cells according to various examples. A pico cellmay cover a relatively smaller geographic area and may allowunrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with the networkprovider. A femto cell also may cover a relatively small geographic area(e.g., a home) and may provide restricted access by UEs having anassociation with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group(CSG), UEs for users in the home, and the like). An eNB for a macro cellmay be referred to as a macro eNB. An eNB for a small cell may bereferred to as a small cell eNB, a pico eNB, a femto eNB or a home eNB.An eNB may support one or multiple (e.g., two, three, four, and thelike) cells (e.g., component carriers).

The wireless communication system 100 may support synchronous orasynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the base stations mayhave similar frame timing, and transmissions from different basestations may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronousoperation, the base stations may have different frame timing, andtransmissions from different base stations may not be aligned in time.The techniques described herein may be used for either synchronous orasynchronous operations.

The communication networks that may accommodate some of the variousdisclosed examples may be packet-based networks that operate accordingto a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, communications at thebearer or Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer may be IP-based.A Radio Link Control (RLC) layer may perform packet segmentation andreassembly to communicate over logical channels. A Medium Access Control(MAC) layer may perform priority handling and multiplexing of logicalchannels into transport channels. The MAC layer may also use HybridAutomatic Repeat Request (HARQ) to provide retransmission at the MAClayer to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, the RadioResource Control (RRC) protocol layer may provide establishment,configuration, and maintenance of an RRC connection between a UE 115 andthe base stations 105 or core network 130 supporting radio bearers forthe user plane data. At the physical (PHY) layer, the transport channelsmay be mapped to physical channels.

The UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout the wireless communicationsystem 100, and each UE 115 may be stationary or mobile. A UE 115 mayalso include or be referred to by those skilled in the art as a mobilestation, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, awireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, awireless communications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriberstation, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, aremote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, orsome other suitable terminology. A UE 115 may be a cellular phone, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wirelesscommunication device, a handheld device, a tablet computer, a laptopcomputer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, etc. AUE may be able to communicate with various types of base stations andnetwork equipment, including macro eNBs, small cell eNBs, relay basestations, and the like. A UE may also be able to communicate usingdifferent RATs, such as a cellular RAT, a Wi-Fi RAT, or other RATs. Asshown in FIG. 1, and by way of example, a UE 115 may simultaneouslycommunicate with base stations 105 and Wi-Fi access points 145.

The communication links 125 shown in wireless communication system 100may include downlink (DL) transmissions, from a base station 105 orWi-Fi access point 145 to a UE 115, or uplink (UL) transmissions, from aUE 115 to a base station 105 or Wi-Fi access point 145. The downlinktransmissions may be called forward link transmissions, while the uplinktransmissions may be called reverse link transmissions. Downlinktransmissions in the wireless communication system 100 may be scheduledby a base station 105 or Wi-Fi access point 145, or jointly, by a basestation 105 or Wi-Fi access point 145 and a UE 115, as described herein.In some examples, the scheduling of a downlink transmission may includean exchange of a pre-scheduling and scheduling message between a basestation 105 or Wi-Fi access point 145 and a UE 115.

In some examples, each communication link 125 may include at least onecarrier, where each carrier may be a signal made up of multiplesub-carriers (e.g., waveform signals of different frequencies) modulatedaccording to the various radio technologies described herein. Eachmodulated signal may be sent on a different sub-carrier and may carrycontrol information (e.g., reference signals, control channels, etc.),overhead information, user data, etc. The communication links 125 maytransmit bidirectional communications using a frequency domain duplexing(FDD) operation (e.g., using paired spectrum resources) or a time domainduplexing (TDD) operation (e.g., using unpaired spectrum resources).Frame structures for FDD operation (e.g., frame structure type 1) andTDD operation (e.g., frame structure type 2) may be defined.

In some examples of the wireless communication system 100, base stations105 or UEs 115 may include multiple antennas for employing antennadiversity schemes to improve communication quality and reliabilitybetween base stations 105 and UEs 115. Additionally or alternatively,base stations 105 or UEs 115 may employ multiple-input, multiple-output(MIMO) techniques that may take advantage of multi-path environments totransmit multiple spatial layers carrying the same or different codeddata.

The wireless communication system 100 may support operation on multiplecells or carriers, a feature which may be referred to as carrieraggregation (CA) or dual-connectivity operation. A carrier may also bereferred to as a component carrier (CC), a layer, a channel, etc. Theterms “carrier,” “component carrier,” “cell,” and “channel” may be usedinterchangeably herein. A UE 115 may have multiple downlink CCs and atleast one uplink CC for carrier aggregation. Carrier aggregation may beused with both FDD and TDD component carriers.

FIG. 2 shows a subframe structure 200 for use in a downlink transmissionreceived at a first device from a second device, in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the first devicemay be one of the UEs 115 described with reference to FIG. 1, and thesecond device may be one of the base stations 105 or Wi-Fi access points145 described with reference to FIG. 1. The subframe structure 200 mayinclude a pre-scheduling message period 205, a scheduling message period215, a downlink transmission period 220, or an acknowledgement (ACK)period 230. A first guard period 210 may be included between thepre-scheduling message period 205 and the scheduling message period 215,and a second guard period 225 may be included between the downlinktransmission period 220 and the acknowledgement period 230.

During the pre-scheduling message period 205, the second device maytransmit (and the first device may receive) a pre-scheduling message fora downlink transmission (e.g., a packet transmission) to the firstdevice. In some examples, the pre-scheduling message may include atleast a buffer status of downlink traffic for the first device, or anidentification of a transmission type, or a restriction on schedulingthe downlink transmission (e.g., a radio restriction, or a carrierrestriction, or a time restriction, or a frequency restriction, or amodulation and coding scheme (MCS) restriction, or a beamformingrestriction, or a combination thereof), or a combination thereof.

During the scheduling message period 215, the first device may transmit(and the second device may receive) a scheduling message. The schedulingmessage may be transmitted in response to receiving the pre-schedulingmessage during the pre-scheduling message period 205. The schedulingmessage may include at least one downlink transmission parameter (i.e.,at least one parameter for transmitting the downlink transmission to thefirst device). In some examples, the at least one downlink transmissionparameter of the scheduling message may include at least a radiorestriction, or a carrier restriction, or a time restriction, or afrequency restriction, or a MCS restriction, or a beamformingrestriction, or a combination thereof. In some examples, the at leastone downlink transmission parameter of the scheduling message mayinclude at least a carrier restriction, or a sub-band restriction, or aresource block restriction, or a combination thereof. In some examples,the at least one downlink transmission parameter of the schedulingmessage may include at least information enabling the first device tosatisfy a sleep schedule, or information enabling the first device tosatisfy a power usage ceiling, or information enabling the first deviceto defer use of a wideband data chain.

During the downlink transmission period 220, the second device maytransmit (and the first device may receive) the downlink transmission tothe first device in accordance with the at least one downlinktransmission parameter of the scheduling message. In some examples, adownlink transmission parameter may indicate an allowed range of values(or indicate one or more values within a range that are not allowed). Inthese examples, the second device may select a value of the downlinktransmission parameter to use for the downlink transmission. Theselection may be based, for example, on the scheduling of one or moreother downlink or uplink transmissions by the second device, on a powerconservation policy, or on other factors. In other examples, a downlinktransmission parameter may indicate a single allowed value for adownlink transmission parameter, or the scheduling message may fullyschedule the downlink transmission (pending acceptance of the schedulingby the second device).

In some examples, the second device may transmit the downlinktransmission upon determining that the at least one downlinktransmission parameter of the scheduling message can be satisfied by thesecond device, but may not transmit the downlink transmission upondetermining that the at least one downlink transmission parameter of thescheduling message cannot be satisfied by the second device. In someexamples, the second device may make a best effort to satisfy the atleast one downlink transmission parameter of the scheduling message. Insome examples, the scheduling message may specify (or the first deviceand the second device may pre-agree on) a first set of one or moredownlink transmission parameters that the second device must satisfybefore transmitting the downlink transmission, and a second set of oneor more downlink transmission parameters that the second device shouldmake a best effort to satisfy before transmitting the downlinktransmission.

During the acknowledgement (ACK) period 230, the first device maytransmit (and the second device may receive) an acknowledgement (ACK) ora non-acknowledgement (NAK) of the downlink transmission.

During the first guard period 210 or the second guard period 225, thefirst device may acquire timing information from the second device.

FIG. 3 shows a wireless communication system 300 in which LTE/LTE-A maybe deployed in a multi-connectivity scenario, in accordance with aspectsof the present disclosure. The wireless communication system 300 may bean example of portions of the wireless communication system 100described with reference to FIG. 1. Moreover, a first base station 105-aand a second base station 105-b may be examples of aspects of one ormore of the base stations 105 described with reference to FIG. 1, whilea UE 115-a may be an example of aspects of one or more of the UEs 115described with reference to FIG. 1.

When communicating in a multi-connectivity mode using LTE/LTE-Acommunications, the UE 115-a may communicate with multiple basestations, such as the first base station 105-a and the second basestation 105-b, using a plurality of radios and in various examples up tofive or more component carriers. One of the component carriers may bedesignated as a primary component carrier (PCC), and the remainingcomponent carriers may be designated as a secondary component carrier(SCC). Each component carrier may be configured as a downlink componentcarrier, an uplink component carrier, or a cell (e.g., a componentcarrier that may be configured for use as a downlink component carrierand/or an uplink component carrier). By way of example, FIG. 3illustrates communication between the UE 115-a and the first basestation 105-a over two component carriers, including a first componentcarrier 320 and a second component carrier 325, of which the firstcomponent carrier 320 is the PCC and the second component carrier 325 isa SCC. FIG. 3 also illustrates communication between the UE 115-a andthe second base station 105-b over a third component carrier 330(another SCC).

When the UE 115-a is communicating with the first base station 105-aand/or the second base station 105-b using the subframe structure 200described with reference to FIG. 2, the downlink transmissionparameter(s) included in a scheduling message transmitted to a basestation (e.g., the first base station 105-a or the second base station105-b) during the scheduling message period 215 may identify a subset ofradios (of the UE 115-a) that may potentially receive a downlinktransmission from the base station. When a pre-scheduling messagereceived by the UE 115-a identifies a transmission type (e.g., a type ofdownlink transmission, such as indication of whether the downlinktransmission is a mission critical notification (e.g., a low latencytype of transmission), a voice call, an email communication, etc.), theUE 115-a may identify the subset of radios based at least in part on thetransmission type. The subset of radios may also be selected based atleast in part on one or more other parameters identified in thepre-scheduling message, and/or in response to receiving thepre-scheduling message. The downlink transmission parameter(s) includedin a scheduling message may also include an availability of each radioin the subset of radios (e.g., a time domain availability, or afrequency domain availability, or a combination thereof). Theavailability of a radio may be based at least in part on a coordinationof the radio's traffic with one or more other radios (e.g., time domaincoordination (e.g., time domain multiplexing (TDM'ing)) with the one ormore other radios when the radio is a slave to another radio accesstechnology (RAT), such as a Wi-Fi RAT, another LTE/LTE-A RAT, a dataoptimized (DO) RAT, etc., and/or frequency domain coordination (e.g.,frequency domain multiplexing (FDM'ing)) with a radio using an adjacentor interfering carrier) or coordination of the radio's use by otherRATs.

FIG. 4 shows a wireless communication system 400 in which a UE 115-b maycommunicate using a plurality of radios and a plurality of RATs, inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The wirelesscommunication system 400 may be an example of portions of the wirelesscommunication system 100 described with reference to FIG. 1. Moreover, abase station 105-c may be an example of aspects of one or more of thebase stations 105 described with reference to FIG. 1, a Wi-Fi accesspoint 145-a may be an example of aspects of one or more of the Wi-Fiaccess points 145 described with reference to FIG. 1, and the UE 115-bmay be an example of aspects of one or more of the UEs 115 describedwith reference to FIG. 1.

When communicating using a plurality of radios and a plurality of RATs,the UE 115-b may, in parallel, communicate with the base station 105-cusing a cellular communications link 420 (e.g., LTE/LTE-Acommunications) and communicate with the Wi-Fi access point 145-a usinga Wi-Fi communications link 425. The UE 115-b may also or alternativelycommunicate with other devices or other RATs. Coordination between theradios and their uses may therefore be undertaken for in-devicecoexistence (IDC).

When the UE 115-b is communicating with the base station 105-c and/orthe Wi-Fi access point 145-a using the subframe structure 200 describedwith reference to FIG. 2, the downlink transmission parameter(s)included in a scheduling message transmitted to the base station 105-cor the Wi-Fi access point 145-a during the scheduling message period 215may include an availability of at least one radio of the UE 115-b thatmay potentially receive a downlink transmission from the base station105-c or Wi-Fi access point 145-a (e.g., a time domain availability, ora frequency domain availability, or a combination thereof). In someexamples, the availability of a radio may be based at least in part on ascheduling or interference of at least one other radio of the UE 115-b.The availability of a radio may also be based at least in part on one ormore parameters identified in a pre-scheduling message, and/or inresponse to receiving a pre-scheduling message. In some examples, theavailability of a radio may be based at least in part on a coordinationof the radio's traffic with one or more other radios (e.g., time domaincoordination (e.g., TDM'ing) with the one or more other radios when theradio is a slave to another RAT, such as a Wi-Fi RAT, another cellularRAT, a DO RAT, etc., and/or frequency domain coordination (e.g.,FDM'ing) with a radio using an adjacent or interfering carrier) orcoordination of the radio's use by other RATs.

FIG. 5 shows a wireless communication system 500 in which a first UE115-c may operate as a relay for at least a second UE 115-d, inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The wirelesscommunication system 500 may be an example of portions of the wirelesscommunication system 100 described with reference to FIG. 1. Moreover, abase station 105-d may be an example of aspects of one or more of thebase stations 105 described with reference to FIG. 1, and the first UE115-c and the second UE 115-d may be examples of aspects of one or moreof the UEs 115 described with reference to FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 5, the first UE 115-c may communicate with the basestation 105-d using, for example, LTE/LTE-A communications over abackhaul link 520. In parallel, the first UE 115-c may operate as arelay for the second UE 115-d and provide an access link 525 forcommunications between the first UE 115-c and the second UE 115-d. Insome examples, the backhaul link 520 may be used for a downlinktransmission while the access link 525 is also used for a downlinktransmission, or the backhaul link 520 may be used for an uplinktransmission while the access link 525 is also used for an uplinktransmission. In these examples, the backhaul link 520 and access link525 may be operated in a time-division multiplexed (TDM) mode. In otherexamples, the backhaul link 520 may be used for a downlink transmissionwhile the access link 525 is used for an uplink transmission, or thebackhaul link 520 may be used for an uplink transmission while theaccess link 525 is used for a downlink transmission. In these examples,the backhaul link 520 and access link 525 may be operated in anfrequency-division multiplexed (FDM) mode.

When the first UE 115-c is communicating with the base station 105-dusing the subframe structure 200 described with reference to FIG. 2 andthe backhaul link 520, the downlink transmission parameter(s) includedin a scheduling message transmitted to the base station 105-c, duringthe scheduling message period 215, may include an availability of atleast one radio of the first UE 115-c that may potentially receive adownlink transmission from the base station 105-d (e.g., a time domainavailability, or a frequency domain availability, or a combinationthereof). In some examples, the availability of a radio may be based atleast in part on a scheduled used of the backhaul link 520 or the accesslink 525. The availability of a radio may also be based at least in parton one or more parameters identified in a pre-scheduling message, and/orin response to receiving a pre-scheduling message. In some examples, theavailability of a radio may be based at least in part on a coordinationof the radio's traffic with one or more other radios (e.g., time domaincoordination (e.g., TDM'ing) with the one or more other radios when theradio is a slave to another RAT, such as a Wi-Fi RAT, another cellularRAT, a DO RAT, etc., and/or frequency domain coordination (e.g.,FDM'ing) with a radio using an adjacent or interfering carrier) orcoordination of the radio's use by other RATs.

FIG. 6 shows a wireless communication system 600 in which a UE 115-e mayoperate in an environment with interference, in accordance with aspectsof the present disclosure. The wireless communication system 600 may bean example of portions of wireless communication systems 100, 300, 400,or 500 described with reference to FIG. 1, 3, 4, or 5. Moreover, a basestation 105-e may be an example of aspects of one or more of the basestations 105 described with reference to FIG. 1,3, 4, or 5, a UE 115-emay be an example of aspects of one or more of the UEs 115 describedwith reference to FIG. 1, 3, 4, or 5, and a Wi-Fi access point 145-b maybe an example of aspects of one or more of the Wi-Fi access points 145described with reference to FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 6, the UE 115-e may communicate with the base station105-e using, for example, LTE/LTE-A communications over a cellularcommunications link 420. Because the Wi-Fi access point 145-b operateswithin an energy detection range 605 of the UE 115-e, the UE 115-e maybe subject to interference caused by transmissions of the Wi-Fi accesspoint 145-b when attempting to receive and decode transmissions over thecellular communications link 420.

When the UE 115-e communicates with the base station 105-e using thesubframe structure 200 described with reference to FIG. 2, the downlinktransmission parameter(s) included in a scheduling message transmittedto the base station 105-e may be based at least in part on an estimatedinterference and/or estimated duration of an interference attributableto the Wi-Fi access point 145-b (and other interfering nodes). In someexamples, a pre-scheduling message transmitted by the base station 105-eto the UE 115-e (e.g., during the pre-scheduling message period 205 ofthe subframe structure 200) may include a pilot signal (or multiplepilot signals). In these examples, the UE 115-e may estimate aninterference on a wireless channel over which the pre-scheduling messageis received based at least in part on the pilot signal (e.g., bymeasuring the pilot signal). The UE 115-e may then identify one or moredownlink transmission parameters based at least in part on the estimatedinterference. For example, the UE 115-e may identify an MCS based atleast in part on the estimated interference.

In some examples, the UE 115-e may estimate or determine a duration ofthe interference caused by the Wi-Fi access point 145-b. The UE 115-emay then identify one or more downlink transmission parameters based atleast in part on the estimated or determined duration of theinterference. For example, the UE 115-e may indicate a time domainavailability of a radio that may receive a downlink transmission basedat least in part on the estimated or determined duration (orperiodicity, or other characteristic) of the interference. The UE 115-emay also or alternatively decode part or all of a transmission by theWi-Fi access point 145-b, and determine an interference duration fromthe decoded part of the transmission. For example, the UE 115-e maydecode a network allocation vector (NAV) included in a Request-to-Send(RTS) transmission and base an indication of time domain availability ofa radio of the UE 115-e on a channel reservation time indicated by theNAV.

In any of the wireless communication systems 100, 300, 400, 500, or 600described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3-6, a UE 115 may in some casesoperate in accordance with a power saving profile, such as a sleepschedule or a power usage ceiling. In these examples, the at least onedownlink transmission parameter of a scheduling message transmittedduring the scheduling message period 215 of the subframe structure 200described with reference to FIG. 2 may include information enabling thefirst device to satisfy a sleep schedule (e.g., downlink transmissionparameters that cause a downlink transmission to be transmitted over ashort time and a wider frequency), or information enabling the firstdevice to satisfy a power usage ceiling (e.g., downlink transmissionparameters that cause a downlink transmission to be transmitted over anarrower frequency), or information enabling the first device to deferuse of a wideband data chain (e.g., when the wideband data chain is nototherwise powered and a pre-scheduling message is received using anarrow band, low power, data chain).

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram 700 of a device 715-a for use in wirelesscommunication, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Thedevice 715-a may be an example of aspects of one or more of the UEs 115described with reference to FIG. 1, 3, 4, 5, or 6. The device 715-a mayalso be or include a processor. The device 715-a may include a receivermodule 710, a wireless communication management module 720, atransmitter module 730, and at least one radio (e.g., radio 725). Eachof these components may be in communication with each other.

The components of the device 715-a may, individually or collectively, beimplemented using one or more application-specific integrated circuits(ASICs) adapted to perform some or all of the applicable functions inhardware. Alternatively, the functions may be performed by one or moreother processing units (or cores), on one or more integrated circuits.In other examples, other types of integrated circuits may be used (e.g.,a Structured/Platform ASIC, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), aSystem-on-Chip (SoC), and/or other types of Semi-Custom ICs), which maybe programmed in any manner known in the art. The functions of eachmodule may also be implemented, in whole or in part, with instructionsembodied in a memory, formatted to be executed by one or more general orapplication-specific processors.

In some examples, the receiver module 710 may include at least one radiofrequency (RF) receiver. The receiver module 710 or RF receiver may beused to receive various types of data or control signals (i.e.,transmissions) over one or more communication links of a wirelesscommunication system, such as one or more communication links ofwireless communication systems 100, 300, 400, 500, or 600 described withreference to FIG. 1, 3, 4, 5, or 6.

In some examples, the transmitter module 730 may include at least one RFtransmitter. The transmitter module 730 or RF transmitter may be used totransmit various types of data or control signals (i.e., transmissions)over one or more communication links of a wireless communication system,such as one or more communication links of the wireless communicationsystem 100, 300, 400, 500, or 600 described with reference to FIG. 1, 3,4, 5, or 6.

In some examples, the radio 725 may be provided by the receiver module710, the transmitter module 730, or a combination thereof, or the radio725 may provide part or all of the receiver module 710, the transmittermodule 730, or a combination thereof.

The wireless communication management module 720 may be used to manageone or more aspects of wireless communication for the device 715-a(e.g., a first device). In some examples, the wireless communicationmanagement module 720 may include a pre-scheduling message processingmodule 735, a scheduling message transmission module 740, or atransmission processing module 745.

The pre-scheduling message processing module 735 may be used to receivea pre-scheduling message for a downlink transmission from a seconddevice (e.g., a base station or Wi-Fi access point). In some examples,the pre-scheduling message may include at least a buffer status ofdownlink traffic for the device 715-a, or an identification of atransmission type, or a restriction on scheduling the downlinktransmission, or a combination thereof.

The scheduling message transmission module 740 may be used to transmit ascheduling message to the second device, in response to receiving thepre-scheduling message. The scheduling message may include at least onedownlink transmission parameter. In some examples, the at least onedownlink transmission parameter of the scheduling message may include atleast a radio restriction, or a carrier restriction, or a timerestriction, or a frequency restriction, or a MCS restriction, or abeamforming restriction, or a combination thereof. In some examples, theat least one downlink transmission parameter of the scheduling messagemay include at least a carrier restriction, or a sub-band restriction,or a resource block restriction, or a combination thereof. In someexamples, the at least one downlink transmission parameter of thescheduling message may include at least information enabling the firstdevice to satisfy a sleep schedule, or information enabling the firstdevice to satisfy a power usage ceiling, or information enabling thefirst device to defer use of a wideband data chain.

The transmission processing module 745 may be used to receive thedownlink transmission in accordance with the at least one downlinktransmission parameter of the scheduling message.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram 800 of a device 715-b for use in wirelesscommunication, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Thedevice 715-b may be an example of aspects of one or more of the UEs 115or device 715 described with reference to FIG. 13, 4, 5, 6, or 7. Thedevice 715-b may also be or include a processor. The device 715-b mayinclude a receiver module 710-a, a wireless communication managementmodule 720-a, a transmitter module 730-a, or at least one radio (e.g.,radio 725-a) which may be respective examples of the receiver module710, the wireless communication management module 720, the transmittermodule 730, or the radio 725 described with reference to FIG. 7. Each ofthese components may be in communication with each other.

The components of the device 715-b may, individually or collectively, beimplemented using one or more ASICs adapted to perform some or all ofthe applicable functions in hardware. Alternatively, the functions maybe performed by one or more other processing units (or cores), on one ormore integrated circuits. In other examples, other types of integratedcircuits may be used (e.g., Structured/Platform ASICs, FPGAs, a SoC,and/or other types of Semi-Custom ICs), which may be programmed in anymanner known in the art. The functions of each module may also beimplemented, in whole or in part, with instructions embodied in amemory, formatted to be executed by one or more general orapplication-specific processors.

The wireless communication management module 720-a may be used to manageone or more aspects of wireless communication for the device 715-b(e.g., a first device). In some examples, the wireless communicationmanagement module 720-a may include a multi-connectivity managementmodule 805, a multi-RAT management module 810, a relay operationsmanagement module 815, a pre-scheduling message processing module 735-a,a scheduling message transmission module 740-a, or a transmissionprocessing module 745-a. The scheduling message transmission module740-a may include a radio selection module 820, a radio availabilityidentification module 825, or an interference estimation module 830.

The pre-scheduling message processing module 735-a may be used toreceive a pre-scheduling message for a downlink transmission from asecond device (e.g., a base station or Wi-Fi access point). In someexamples, the pre-scheduling message may include at least a bufferstatus of downlink traffic for the device 715-b, or an identification ofa transmission type, or a restriction on scheduling the downlinktransmission, or a combination thereof.

The scheduling message transmission module 740-a may be used to transmita scheduling message to the second device, in response to receiving thepre-scheduling message. The scheduling message may include at least onedownlink transmission parameter. In some examples, the at least onedownlink transmission parameter of the scheduling message may include atleast a radio restriction, or a carrier restriction, or a timerestriction, or a frequency restriction, or a MCS restriction, or abeamforming restriction, or a combination thereof. In some examples, theat least one downlink transmission parameter of the scheduling messagemay include at least a carrier restriction, or a sub-band restriction,or a resource block restriction, or a combination thereof. In someexamples, the at least one downlink transmission parameter of thescheduling message may include at least information enabling the firstdevice to satisfy a sleep schedule, or information enabling the firstdevice to satisfy a power usage ceiling, or information enabling thefirst device to defer use of a wideband data chain.

The transmission processing module 745-a may be used to receive thedownlink transmission in accordance with the at least one downlinktransmission parameter of the scheduling message.

In some examples, the multi-connectivity management module 805 may beused to operate the device 715-b using a plurality of radios. Forexample, the device 715-b may be operated in a multi-connectivity mode,as described with reference to FIG. 3. In these examples, the radioselection module 820 may be used to select a subset of radios of theplurality of radios (e.g., to potentially receive the downlinktransmission from the second device). When the pre-scheduling messagereceived by the pre-scheduling message processing module 735-aidentifies a transmission type, the subset of radios may be selectedbased at least in part on the transmission type. In some examples, thesubset of radios may also be selected based at least in part on one ormore other parameters identified in the pre-scheduling message, and/orin response to receiving the pre-scheduling message. In these examples,the radio availability identification module 825 may be used to identifyan availability of each radio in the subset of radios. In some examples,the identified availability of each radio may include at least a timedomain availability, or a frequency domain availability, or acombination thereof. In these examples, the at least one downlinktransmission parameter included in the scheduling message (andtransmitted using the scheduling message transmission module 740) mayidentify the subset of radios selected by the radio selection module820, and/or the at least one downlink transmission parameter may includean availability of each radio in the subset of radios (as identified bythe radio availability identification module 825).

In some examples, the multi-RAT management module 810 may be used tocommunicate, via the device 715-b, using a plurality of radios and aplurality of RATs. For example, the device 715-b may communicate using acellular RAT and a Wi-Fi RAT, as described with reference to FIG. 4. Inthese examples, the radio availability identification module 825 may beused to identify an availability of at least one radio in the pluralityof radios, which radio(s) may potentially receive the downlinktransmission from the second device. In some examples, the identifiedavailability of the at least one radio may include at least a timedomain availability, or a frequency domain availability, or acombination thereof. In some examples, the availability of the at leastone radio may be based at least in part on a scheduling or interferenceof at least one other radio in the plurality of radios. In someexamples, the availability of the at least one radio may also be basedat least in part on at least one parameter identified in thepre-scheduling message received using the pre-scheduling messageprocessing module 735-a, and/or the availability of the at least oneradio may be identified in response to receiving the pre-schedulingmessage. In these examples, the at least one downlink transmissionparameter included in the scheduling message (and transmitted using thescheduling message transmission module 740) may identify theavailability of the at least one radio.

In some examples, the relay operations management module 815 may be usedto operate the device 715-b as a relay for at least one access link, inparallel with receiving the downlink transmission over a backhaul link(e.g., as described with reference to FIG. 5). In these examples, theradio availability identification module 825 may be used to identify anavailability of at least one radio in the plurality of radios, whichradio(s) may potentially receive the downlink transmission from thesecond device. The availability of the at least one radio may beidentified based at least in part on a scheduled use of the at least oneaccess link (as determined by the relay operations management module815). In some examples, the identified availability of the at least oneradio may include at least a time domain availability, or a frequencydomain availability, or a combination thereof. In some examples, theavailability of the at least one radio may also be based at least inpart on at least one parameter identified in the pre-scheduling messagereceived using the pre-scheduling message processing module 735-a,and/or the availability of the at least one radio may be identified inresponse to receiving the pre-scheduling message. In these examples, theat least one downlink transmission parameter included in the schedulingmessage (and transmitted using the scheduling message transmissionmodule 740) may identify the availability of the at least one radio.

In some examples, a pre-scheduling message received using thepre-scheduling message processing module 735-a may include a pilotsignal (or multiple pilot signals). In these examples, the interferenceestimation module 830 may be used to estimate an interference on awireless channel based at least in part on the pilot signal. A durationof the interference may also be estimated. In some examples, thewireless channel may be identified in the pre-scheduling message, or thewireless channel may be a channel over which the pre-scheduling messageis received. In some examples, the interference on the wireless channelmay be estimated in response to receiving the pre-scheduling message. Inthese examples, the at least one downlink transmission parameterincluded in the scheduling message (and transmitted using the schedulingmessage transmission module 740) may be identified based at least inpart on the estimated interference and/or the estimated duration of theinterference.

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram 900 of a device 905 for use in wirelesscommunication, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Thedevice 905 may be an example of aspects of one or more of the basestations 105 described with reference to FIG. 1, 3, 4, 5, or 6. Thedevice 905 may also be or include a processor. The device 905 mayinclude a receiver module 910, a wireless communication managementmodule 920, a transmitter module 930, and at least one radio (e.g.,radio 925). Each of these components may be in communication with eachother.

The components of the device 905 may, individually or collectively, beimplemented using one or more ASICs adapted to perform some or all ofthe applicable functions in hardware. Alternatively, the functions maybe performed by one or more other processing units (or cores), on one ormore integrated circuits. In other examples, other types of integratedcircuits may be used (e.g., Structured/Platform ASICs, FPGAs, a SoC,and/or other types of Semi-Custom ICs), which may be programmed in anymanner known in the art. The functions of each module may also beimplemented, in whole or in part, with instructions embodied in amemory, formatted to be executed by one or more general orapplication-specific processors.

In some examples, the receiver module 910 may include at least one RFreceiver. The receiver module 910 or RF receiver may be used to receivevarious types of data or control signals (i.e., transmissions) over oneor more communication links of a wireless communication system, such asone or more communication links of the wireless communication system100, 300, 400, 500, or 600 described with reference to FIG. 1, 3, 4, 5,or 6.

In some examples, the transmitter module 930 may include at least one RFtransmitter. The transmitter module 930 or RF transmitter may be used totransmit various types of data or control signals (i.e., transmissions)over one or more communication links of a wireless communication system,such as one or more communication links of the wireless communicationsystem 100, 300, 400, 500, or 600 described with reference to FIG. 1, 3,4, 5, or 6.

In some examples, the radio 925 may be provided by the receiver module910, the transmitter module 930, or a combination thereof, or the radio925 may provide part or all of the receiver module 910, the transmittermodule 930, or a combination thereof.

The wireless communication management module 920 may be used to manageone or more aspects of wireless communication for the device 905 (e.g.,a second device). In some examples, the wireless communicationmanagement module 920 may include a pre-scheduling message transmissionmodule 935, a scheduling message processing module 940, or atransmission management module 945.

The pre-scheduling message transmission module 935 may be used totransmit a pre-scheduling message for a downlink transmission to a firstdevice (e.g., a UE). In some examples, the pre-scheduling message mayinclude at least a buffer status of downlink traffic for the firstdevice, or an identification of a transmission type, or a restriction onscheduling the downlink transmission, or a combination thereof.

The scheduling message processing module 940 may be used to receive ascheduling message from the first device. The scheduling message mayinclude at least one downlink transmission parameter. The schedulingmessage may be received from the first device in response totransmitting the pre-scheduling message. In some examples, the at leastone downlink transmission parameter of the scheduling message mayinclude at least a radio restriction, or a carrier restriction, or atime restriction, or a frequency restriction, or a MCS restriction, or abeamforming restriction, or a combination thereof. In some examples, theat least one downlink transmission parameter of the scheduling messagemay include at least a carrier restriction, or a sub-band restriction,or a resource block restriction, or a combination thereof.

The transmission management module 945 may be used to transmit thedownlink transmission in accordance with the at least one downlinktransmission parameter of the scheduling message. In some examples, thetransmission management module 945 may transmit the downlinktransmission upon determining that the at least one downlinktransmission parameter of the scheduling message can be satisfied by thedevice 905, and may not transmit the downlink transmission upondetermining that the at least one downlink transmission parameter of thescheduling message cannot be satisfied by the device 905.

FIG. 10 shows a block diagram 1000 of a UE 1015 for use in wirelesscommunication, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. TheUE 1015 may have various configurations and may be included or be partof a personal computer (e.g., a laptop computer, a netbook computer, atablet computer, etc.), a cellular telephone, a PDA, a digital videorecorder (DVR), an internet appliance, a gaming console, an e-reader,etc. The UE 1015 may, in some examples, have an internal power supply(not shown), such as a small battery, to facilitate mobile operation. Insome examples, the UE 1015 may be an example of aspects of one or moreof the UEs 115 or devices 715 described with reference to FIG. 1, 3, 4,5, 6, 7, or 8. The UE 1015 may be configured to implement at least someof the UE or device features and functions described with reference toFIG. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8.

The UE 1015 may include a UE processor module 1010, a UE memory module1020, at least one UE transceiver module (represented by UE transceivermodule(s) 1030), at least one UE antenna (represented by UE antenna(s)1040), or a UE wireless communication management module 1060, which maybe an example of wireless communication management module 720 describedwith reference to FIG. 7. Each of these components may be incommunication with each other, directly or indirectly, over one or morebuses 1035.

The UE memory module 1020 may include random access memory (RAM) orread-only memory (ROM). The UE memory module 1020 may storecomputer-readable, computer-executable code 1025 containing instructionsthat are configured to, when executed, cause the UE processor module1010 to perform various functions described herein related to wirelesscommunication, including, for example, transmitting scheduling messagesto a base station. Alternatively, the code 1025 may not be directlyexecutable by the UE processor module 1010 but be configured to causethe UE 1015 (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform various of thefunctions described herein.

The UE processor module 1010 may include an intelligent hardware device,e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an ASIC, etc.The UE processor module 1010 may process information received throughthe UE transceiver module(s) 1030 or information to be sent to the UEtransceiver module(s) 1030 for transmission through the UE antenna(s)1040. The UE processor module 1010 may handle, alone or in connectionwith the UE wireless communication management module 1060, variousaspects of communicating over (or managing communications over) one ormore wireless channels.

The UE transceiver module(s) 1030 may include a modem configured tomodulate packets and provide the modulated packets to the UE antenna(s)1040 for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the UEantenna(s) 1040. The UE transceiver module(s) 1030 may, in someexamples, be implemented as one or more UE transmitter modules and oneor more separate UE receiver modules, and/or as one or more radios. TheUE transceiver module(s) 1030 may support communications on one or morewireless channels. The UE transceiver module(s) 1030 may be configuredto communicate bi-directionally, via the UE antenna(s) 1040, with one ormore of the base stations or Wi-Fi access points, such as one or more ofthe base stations 105, Wi-Fi access points 145, or devices 905 describedwith reference to FIG. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 9. While the UE 1015 mayinclude a single UE antenna, there may be examples in which the UE 1015may include multiple UE antennas 1040.

The UE wireless communication management module 1060 may be configuredto perform or control some or all of the UE or device features orfunctions described with reference to FIG. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8related to wireless communication over one or more wireless channels.The UE wireless communication management module 1060, or portions of it,may include a processor, or some or all of the functions of the UEwireless communication management module 1060 may be performed by the UEprocessor module 1010 or in connection with the UE processor module1010. In some examples, the UE wireless communication management module1060 may be an example of the wireless communication management module720 described with reference to FIG. 7 or 8.

FIG. 11 shows a block diagram 1100 of a base station 1105 (e.g., a basestation forming part or all of an eNB) for use in wirelesscommunication, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Insome examples, the base station 1105 may be an example of one or moreaspects of the base stations 105 or devices 905 described with referenceto FIG. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 9. The base station 1105 may be configured toimplement or facilitate at least some of the base station or devicefeatures and functions described with reference to FIG. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6,or 9.

The base station 1105 may include a base station processor module 1110,a base station memory module 1120, at least one base station transceivermodule (represented by base station transceiver module(s) 1150), atleast one base station antenna (represented by base station antenna(s)1155), or a base station wireless communication management module 1160,which may be an example of wireless communication management module 920.The base station 1105 may also include one or more of a base stationcommunications module 1130 or a network communications module 1140. Eachof these components may be in communication with each other, directly orindirectly, over one or more buses 1135.

The base station memory module 1120 may include RAM or ROM. The basestation memory module 1120 may store computer-readable,computer-executable code 1125 containing instructions that areconfigured to, when executed, cause the base station processor module1110 to perform various functions described herein related to wirelesscommunication, including, for example, transmitting pre-schedulingmessages for downlink transmissions. Alternatively, the code 1125 maynot be directly executable by the base station processor module 1110 butbe configured to cause the base station 1105 (e.g., when compiled andexecuted) to perform various of the functions described herein.

The base station processor module 1110 may include an intelligenthardware device, e.g., a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, etc. The basestation processor module 1110 may process information received throughthe base station transceiver module(s) 1150, the base stationcommunications module 1130, or the network communications module 1140.The base station processor module 1110 may also process information tobe sent to the transceiver module(s) 1150 for transmission through thebase station antenna(s) 1155, to the base station communications module1130, for transmission to one or more other base stations 105-f and105-g, or to the network communications module 1140 for transmission toa core network 1145, which may be an example of one or more aspects ofthe core network 130 described with reference to FIG. 1. The basestation processor module 1110 may handle, alone or in connection withthe base station wireless communication management module 1160, variousaspects of communicating over (or managing communications over) one ormore wireless channels.

The base station transceiver module(s) 1150 may include a modemconfigured to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to thebase station antenna(s) 1155 for transmission, and to demodulate packetsreceived from the base station antenna(s) 1155. The base stationtransceiver module(s) 1150 may, in some examples, be implemented as oneor more base station transmitter modules and one or more separate basestation receiver modules and/or as one or more radios. The base stationtransceiver module(s) 1150 may support communications on one or morewireless channels. The base station transceiver module(s) 1150 may beconfigured to communicate bi-directionally, via the base stationantenna(s) 1155, with one or more UEs or devices, such as one or more ofthe UEs 115 or devices 715 described with reference to FIG. 1, 3, 4, 5,6, 7, 8, or 10. The base station 1105 may, for example, include multiplebase station antennas 1155 (e.g., an antenna array). The base station1105 may communicate with the core network 1145 through the networkcommunications module 1140. The base station 1105 may also communicatewith other base stations, such as the base stations 105-h and 105-i,using the base station communications module 1130.

The base station wireless communication management module 1160 may beconfigured to perform or control some or all of the features orfunctions described with reference to FIG. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 9 relatedto wireless communication over one or more wireless channels. The basestation wireless communication management module 1160, or portions ofit, may include a processor, or some or all of the functions of the basestation wireless communication management module 1160 may be performedby the base station processor module 1110 or in connection with the basestation processor module 1110. In some examples, the base stationwireless communication management module 1160 may be an example of thewireless communication management module 920 described with reference toFIG. 9.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method 1200 forwireless communication, in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure. For clarity, the exemplary method 1200 is described hereinwith reference to aspects of one or more of the UEs 115, devices 715, orUE 1015, described with reference to FIG. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 10. Insome examples, a UE or device may execute one or more sets of codes tocontrol the functional elements of the UE or device to perform thefunctions described herein. Additionally or alternatively, the UE ordevice may perform one or more of the functions described herein usingspecial-purpose hardware.

At block 1205, a first device (e.g., a UE) may receive a pre-schedulingmessage for a downlink transmission from a second device (e.g., a basestation or Wi-Fi access point). In some examples, the pre-schedulingmessage may include at least a buffer status of downlink traffic for thefirst device, or an identification of a transmission type, or arestriction on scheduling the downlink transmission, or a combinationthereof. The operation(s) at block 1205 may be performed using thewireless communication management module 720 described with reference toFIG. 7 or 8, the UE wireless communication management module 1060described with reference to FIG. 10, or the pre-scheduling messageprocessing module 735 described with reference to FIG. 7 or 8.

At block 1210, the first device may transmit a scheduling message to thesecond device, in response to receiving the pre-scheduling message. Thescheduling message may include at least one downlink transmissionparameter. In some examples, the at least one downlink transmissionparameter of the scheduling message may include at least a radiorestriction, or a carrier restriction, or a time restriction, or afrequency restriction, or a MCS restriction, or a beamformingrestriction, or a combination thereof. In some examples, the at leastone downlink transmission parameter of the scheduling message mayinclude at least a carrier restriction, or a sub-band restriction, or aresource block restriction, or a combination thereof. In some examples,the at least one downlink transmission parameter of the schedulingmessage may include at least information enabling the first device tosatisfy a sleep schedule, or information enabling the first device tosatisfy a power usage ceiling, or information enabling the first deviceto defer use of a wideband data chain. The operation(s) at block 1210may be performed using the wireless communication management module 720described with reference to FIG. 7 or 8, the UE wireless communicationmanagement module 1060 described with reference to FIG. 10, or thescheduling message transmission module 740 described with reference toFIG. 7 or 8.

At block 1215, the first device may receive the downlink transmission inaccordance with the at least one downlink transmission parameter of thescheduling message. The operation(s) at block 1215 may be performedusing the wireless communication management module 720 described withreference to FIG. 7 or 8, the UE wireless communication managementmodule 1060 described with reference to FIG. 10, or the transmissionprocessing module 745 described with reference to FIG. 7 or 8.

Thus, the exemplary method 1200 may provide for wireless communication.It should be noted that the exemplary method 1200 is just oneimplementation and that the operations of the exemplary method 1200 maybe rearranged or otherwise modified such that other implementations arepossible.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method 1300 forwireless communication, in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure. For clarity, the exemplary method 1300 is described hereinwith reference to aspects of one or more of the UEs 115, devices 715, orUE 1015 described with reference to FIG. 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 10. Insome examples, a UE or device may execute one or more sets of codes tocontrol the functional elements of the UE or device to perform thefunctions described herein. Additionally or alternatively, the UE ordevice may perform one or more of the functions described herein usingspecial-purpose hardware.

At block 1305, a first device (e.g., a UE) may be operated using aplurality of radios of the first device. For example, the first devicemay be operated in a multi-connectivity mode, as described withreference to FIG. 3. The operation(s) at block 1305 may be performedusing the wireless communication management module 720 described withreference to FIG. 7 or 8, the UE wireless communication managementmodule 1060 described with reference to FIG. 10, or the radio(s) 725described with reference to FIG. 7 or 8.

At block 1310, the first device may receive a pre-scheduling message fora downlink transmission from a second device (e.g., a base station orWi-Fi access point). In some examples, the pre-scheduling message mayinclude at least a buffer status of downlink traffic for the firstdevice, or an identification of a transmission type, or a restriction onscheduling the downlink transmission, or a combination thereof. Theoperation(s) at block 1310 may be performed using the wirelesscommunication management module 720 described with reference to FIG. 7or 8, the UE wireless communication management module 1060 describedwith reference to FIG. 10, or the pre-scheduling message processingmodule 735 described with reference to FIG. 7 or 8.

At block 1315, a subset of radios of the plurality of radios may beselected (e.g., to potentially receive the downlink transmission fromthe second device). When the pre-scheduling message identifies atransmission type, the subset of radios may be selected based at leastin part on the transmission type. In some examples, the subset of radiosmay also be selected based at least in part on one or more otherparameters identified in the pre-scheduling message, and/or in responseto receiving the pre-scheduling message. The operation(s) at block 1315may be performed using the wireless communication management module 720described with reference to FIG. 7 or 8, the UE wireless communicationmanagement module 1060 described with reference to FIG. 10, thescheduling message transmission module 740 described with reference toFIG. 7 or 8, or the radio selection module 820 described with referenceto FIG. 8.

At block 1320, an availability of each radio in the subset of radios maybe identified. In some examples, the identified availability of eachradio may include at least a time domain availability, or a frequencydomain availability, or a combination thereof. The operation(s) at block1320 may be performed using the wireless communication management module720 described with reference to FIG. 7 or 8, the UE wirelesscommunication management module 1060 described with reference to FIG.10, the scheduling message transmission module 740 described withreference to FIG. 7 or 8, or the radio availability identificationmodule 825 described with reference to FIG. 8.

At block 1325, the first device may transmit a scheduling message to thesecond device, in response to receiving the pre-scheduling message. Thescheduling message may include at least one downlink transmissionparameter. In some examples, the at least one downlink transmissionparameter of the scheduling message may identify the subset of radiosselected at block 1315. In some examples, the at least one downlinktransmission parameter of the scheduling message may also include theavailability of each radio, as identified at block 1320. Theoperation(s) at block 1325 may be performed using the wirelesscommunication management module 720 described with reference to FIG. 7or 8, the UE wireless communication management module 1060 describedwith reference to FIG. 10, or the scheduling message transmission module740 described with reference to FIG. 7 or 8.

At block 1330, the first device may receive the downlink transmission inaccordance with the at least one downlink transmission parameter of thescheduling message. The operation(s) at block 1330 may be performedusing the wireless communication management module 720 described withreference to FIG. 7 or 8, the UE wireless communication managementmodule 1060 described with reference to FIG. 10, or the transmissionprocessing module 745 described with reference to FIG. 7 or 8.

Thus, the exemplary method 1300 may provide for wireless communication.It should be noted that the exemplary method 1300 is just oneimplementation and that the operations of the exemplary method 1300 maybe rearranged or otherwise modified such that other implementations arepossible.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method 1400 forwireless communication, in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure. For clarity, the exemplary method 1400 is described hereinwith reference to aspects of one or more of the UEs 115, devices 715, orUE 1015 described with reference to FIG. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 10. Insome examples, a UE or device may execute one or more sets of codes tocontrol the functional elements of the UE or device to perform thefunctions described herein. Additionally or alternatively, the UE ordevice may perform one or more of the functions described herein usingspecial-purpose hardware.

At block 1405, a first device (e.g., a UE) may communicate using aplurality of radios and a plurality of RATs of the first device (e.g., acellular RAT and a Wi-Fi RAT, as described with reference to FIG. 4).The operation(s) at block 1405 may be performed using the wirelesscommunication management module 720 described with reference to FIG. 7or 8, the UE wireless communication management module 1060 describedwith reference to FIG. 10, or the radio(s) 725 described with referenceto FIG. 7 or 8.

At block 1410, the first device may receive a pre-scheduling message fora downlink transmission from a second device (e.g., a base station orWi-Fi access point). In some examples, the pre-scheduling message mayinclude at least a buffer status of downlink traffic for the firstdevice, or an identification of a transmission type, or a restriction onscheduling the downlink transmission, or a combination thereof. Theoperation(s) at block 1410 may be performed using the wirelesscommunication management module 720 described with reference to FIG. 7or 8, the UE wireless communication management module 1060 describedwith reference to FIG. 10, or the pre-scheduling message processingmodule 735 described with reference to FIG. 7 or 8.

At block 1415, an availability of at least one radio in the plurality ofradios may be identified. The at least one radio may include one or moreradios that may potentially receive the downlink transmission from thesecond device. In some examples, the identified availability of the atleast one radio may include at least a time domain availability, or afrequency domain availability, or a combination thereof. In someexamples, the availability of the at least one radio may be based atleast in part on a scheduling or interference of at least one otherradio in the plurality of radios. In some examples, the availability ofthe at least one radio may also be based at least in part on at leastone parameter identified in the pre-scheduling message, and/or theavailability of the at least one radio may be identified in response toreceiving the pre-scheduling message. The operation(s) at block 1415 maybe performed using the wireless communication management module 720described with reference to FIG. 7 or 8, the UE wireless communicationmanagement module 1060 described with reference to FIG. 10, thescheduling message transmission module 740 described with reference toFIG. 7 or 8, or the radio availability identification module 825described with reference to FIG. 8.

At block 1420, the first device may transmit a scheduling message to thesecond device, in response to receiving the pre-scheduling message. Thescheduling message may include at least one downlink transmissionparameter. In some examples, the at least one downlink transmissionparameter of the scheduling message may include the availability of theat least one radio. The operation(s) at block 1420 may be performedusing the wireless communication management module 720 described withreference to FIG. 7 or 8, the UE wireless communication managementmodule 1060 described with reference to FIG. 10, or the schedulingmessage transmission module 740 described with reference to FIG. 7 or 8.

At block 1425, the first device may receive the downlink transmission inaccordance with the at least one downlink transmission parameter of thescheduling message. The operation(s) at block 1425 may be performedusing the wireless communication management module 720 described withreference to FIG. 7 or 8, the UE wireless communication managementmodule 1060 described with reference to FIG. 10, or the transmissionprocessing module 745 described with reference to FIG. 7 or 8.

Thus, the exemplary method 1400 may provide for wireless communication.It should be noted that the exemplary method 1400 is just oneimplementation and that the operations of the exemplary method 1400 maybe rearranged or otherwise modified such that other implementations arepossible.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method 1500 forwireless communication, in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure. For clarity, the exemplary method 1500 is described hereinwith reference to aspects of one or more of the UEs 115, devices 715, orUE 1015 described with reference to FIG. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 10. Insome examples, a UE or device may execute one or more sets of codes tocontrol the functional elements of the UE or device to perform thefunctions described herein. Additionally or alternatively, the UE ordevice may perform one or more of the functions described herein usingspecial-purpose hardware.

At block 1505, a first device (e.g., a UE) may be operated as a relayfor at least one access link, in parallel with receiving the downlinktransmission over a backhaul link (e.g., as described with reference toFIG. 5). The operation(s) at block 1505 may be performed using thewireless communication management module 720 described with reference toFIG. 7 or 8, the UE wireless communication management module 1060described with reference to FIG. 10, or the relay operations managementmodule 815 described with reference to FIG. 7 or 8.

At block 1510, the first device may receive a pre-scheduling message fora downlink transmission from a second device (e.g., a base station orWi-Fi access point). In some examples, the pre-scheduling message mayinclude at least a buffer status of downlink traffic for the firstdevice, or an identification of a transmission type, or a restriction onscheduling the downlink transmission, or a combination thereof. Theoperation(s) at block 1510 may be performed using the wirelesscommunication management module 720 described with reference to FIG. 7or 8, the UE wireless communication management module 1060 describedwith reference to FIG. 10, or the pre-scheduling message processingmodule 735 described with reference to FIG. 7 or 8.

At block 1515, an availability of at least one radio of the first devicemay be identified based at least in part on a scheduled use of the atleast one access link. In some examples, the identified availability ofthe at least one radio may include at least a time domain availability,or a frequency domain availability, or a combination thereof. In someexamples, the availability of the at least one radio may also be basedat least in part on at least one parameter identified in thepre-scheduling message, and/or the availability of the at least oneradio may be identified in response to receiving the pre-schedulingmessage. The operation(s) at block 1515 may be performed using thewireless communication management module 720 described with reference toFIG. 7 or 8, the UE wireless communication management module 1060described with reference to FIG. 10, the scheduling message transmissionmodule 740 described with reference to FIG. 7 or 8, or the radioavailability identification module 825 described with reference to FIG.8.

At block 1520, the first device may transmit a scheduling message to thesecond device, in response to receiving the pre-scheduling message. Thescheduling message may include at least one downlink transmissionparameter. In some examples, the at least one downlink transmissionparameter of the scheduling message may include the availability of theat least one radio. The operation(s) at block 1520 may be performedusing the wireless communication management module 720 described withreference to FIG. 7 or 8, the UE wireless communication managementmodule 1060 described with reference to FIG. 10, or the schedulingmessage transmission module 740 described with reference to FIG. 7 or 8.

At block 1525, the first device may receive the downlink transmission inaccordance with the at least one downlink transmission parameter of thescheduling message. The operation(s) at block 1525 may be performedusing the wireless communication management module 720 described withreference to FIG. 7 or 8, the UE wireless communication managementmodule 1060 described with reference to FIG. 10, or the transmissionprocessing module 745 described with reference to FIG. 7 or 8.

Thus, the exemplary method 1500 may provide for wireless communication.It should be noted that the exemplary method 1500 is just oneimplementation and that the operations of the exemplary method 1500 maybe rearranged or otherwise modified such that other implementations arepossible.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method 1600 forwireless communication, in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure. For clarity, the exemplary method 1600 is described hereinwith reference to aspects of one or more of the UEs 115, devices 715, orUE 1015 described with reference to FIG. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 10. Insome examples, a UE or device may execute one or more sets of codes tocontrol the functional elements of the UE or device to perform thefunctions described herein. Additionally or alternatively, the UE ordevice may perform one or more of the functions described herein usingspecial-purpose hardware.

At block 1605, a first device (e.g., a UE) may receive a pre-schedulingmessage for a downlink transmission from a second device (e.g., a basestation or Wi-Fi access point). The pre-scheduling message may include apilot signal (or multiple pilot signals). In some examples, thepre-scheduling message may also include at least a buffer status ofdownlink traffic for the first device, or an identification of atransmission type, or a restriction on scheduling the downlinktransmission, or a combination thereof. The operation(s) at block 1605may be performed using the wireless communication management module 720described with reference to FIG. 7 or 8, the UE wireless communicationmanagement module 1060 described with reference to FIG. 10, or thepre-scheduling message processing module 735 described with reference toFIG. 7 or 8.

At block 1610, the first device may estimate an interference on awireless channel based at least in part on the pilot signal received atblock 1605. In some examples, the wireless channel may be identified inthe pre-scheduling message, or the wireless channel may be a channelover which the pre-scheduling message is received. In some examples, theinterference on the wireless channel may be estimated in response toreceiving the pre-scheduling message. The operation(s) at block 1610 or1615 may be performed using the wireless communication management module720 described with reference to FIG. 7 or 8, the UE wirelesscommunication management module 1060 described with reference to FIG.10, the scheduling message transmission module 740 described withreference to FIG. 7 or 8, or the interference estimation module 830described with reference to FIG. 8.

At block 1615, the first device may optionally estimate a duration ofthe interference on the wireless channel. The operation(s) at block 1610or 1615 may be performed using the wireless communication managementmodule 720 described with reference to FIG. 7 or 8, the UE wirelesscommunication management module 1060 described with reference to FIG.10, the scheduling message transmission module 740 described withreference to FIG. 7 or 8, or the interference estimation module 830described with reference to FIG. 8.

At block 1620, the first device may transmit a scheduling message to thesecond device, in response to receiving the pre-scheduling message. Thescheduling message may include at least one downlink transmissionparameter. In some examples, the at least one downlink transmissionparameter may be identified based at least in part on the estimatedinterference and/or the estimated duration of the interference. Theoperation(s) at block 1620 may be performed using the wirelesscommunication management module 720 described with reference to FIG. 7or 8, the UE wireless communication management module 1060 describedwith reference to FIG. 10, or the scheduling message transmission module740 described with reference to FIG. 7 or 8.

At block 1625, the first device may receive the downlink transmission inaccordance with the at least one downlink transmission parameter of thescheduling message. The operation(s) at block 1625 may be performedusing the wireless communication management module 720 described withreference to FIG. 7 or 8, the UE wireless communication managementmodule 1060 described with reference to FIG. 10, or the transmissionprocessing module 745 described with reference to FIG. 7 or 8.

Thus, the exemplary method 1600 may provide for wireless communication.It should be noted that the exemplary method 1600 is just oneimplementation and that the operations of the exemplary method 1600 maybe rearranged or otherwise modified such that other implementations arepossible.

In some examples, aspects from two or more of the methods 1200, 1300,1400, 1500, or 1600 described with reference to FIG. 12, 13, 14, 15, or16 may be combined. It should be noted that the methods 1200, 1300,1400, 1500, and 1600 are just example implementations, and that theoperations of the methods 1200, 1300, 1400, 1500, or 1600 may berearranged or otherwise modified such that other implementations arepossible.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method 1700 forwireless communication, in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure. For clarity, the exemplary method 1700 is described hereinwith reference to aspects of one or more of the UEs 115, UEs 1015, ordevices 715 described with reference to FIG. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 10.In some examples, a UE or device may execute one or more sets of codesto control the functional elements of the UE or device to perform thefunctions described herein. Additionally or alternatively, the UE ordevice may perform one or more of the functions described herein usingspecial-purpose hardware.

At block 1705, a second device (e.g., a base station or Wi-Fi accesspoint) may transmit, to a first device (e.g., a UE), a pre-schedulingmessage for a downlink transmission from the second device. In someexamples, the pre-scheduling message may include at least a bufferstatus of downlink traffic for the first device, or an identification ofa transmission type, or a restriction on scheduling the downlinktransmission, or a combination thereof. The operation(s) at block 1705may be performed using the wireless communication management module 920described with reference to FIG. 9, the base station wirelesscommunication management module 1160 described with reference to FIG.11, or the pre-scheduling message transmission module 935 described withreference to FIG. 9.

At block 1710, the second device may receive a scheduling message fromthe first device. The scheduling message may include at least onedownlink transmission parameter. The scheduling message may be receivedfrom the first device in response to transmitting the pre-schedulingmessage. In some examples, the at least one downlink transmissionparameter of the scheduling message may include at least a radiorestriction, or a carrier restriction, or a time restriction, or afrequency restriction, or a MCS restriction, or a beamformingrestriction, or a combination thereof. In some examples, the at leastone downlink transmission parameter of the scheduling message mayinclude at least a carrier restriction, or a sub-band restriction, or aresource block restriction, or a combination thereof. The operation(s)at block 1710 may be performed using the wireless communicationmanagement module 920 described with reference to FIG. 9, the basestation wireless communication management module 1160 described withreference to FIG. 11, or the scheduling message processing module 940described with reference to FIG. 9.

At block 1715, the second device may transmit the downlink transmissionto the first device in accordance with the at least one downlinktransmission parameter of the scheduling message. The operation(s) atblock 1715 may be performed using the wireless communication managementmodule 920 described with reference to FIG. 9, the base station wirelesscommunication management module 1160 described with reference to FIG.11, or the transmission management module 945 described with referenceto FIG. 9.

In some examples, the exemplary method 1700 may transmit the downlinktransmission upon determining that the at least one downlinktransmission parameter of the scheduling message can be satisfied by thesecond device, and may not transmit the downlink transmission upondetermining that the at least one downlink transmission parameter of thescheduling message cannot be satisfied by the second device.

Thus, the exemplary method 1700 may provide for wireless communication.It should be noted that the exemplary method 1700 is just oneimplementation and that the operations of the exemplary method 1700 maybe rearranged or otherwise modified such that other implementations arepossible.

Techniques described herein may be used for various wirelesscommunication systems such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, andother systems. The terms “system” and “network” are often usedinterchangeably. A CDMA system may implement a radio technology such asCDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), etc. CDMA2000covers IS-2000, IS-95, and IS-856 standards. IS-2000 Releases 0 and Aare commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1×, 1×, etc. IS-856 (TIA-856) iscommonly referred to as CDMA2000 1×EV-DO, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD),etc. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. ATDMA system may implement a radio technology such as Global System forMobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA system may implement a radiotechnology such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA),Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi),IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM™, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA arepart of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). 3GPP Long TermEvolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) are new releases of UMTS thatuse E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, and GSM are described indocuments from an organization named “3rd Generation PartnershipProject” (3GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from anorganization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2). Thetechniques described herein may be used for the systems and radiotechnologies mentioned above as well as other systems and radiotechnologies, including cellular (e.g., LTE) communications over ashared radio frequency spectrum band. The description above, however,describes an LTE/LTE-A system for purposes of example, and LTEterminology is used in much of the description above, although thetechniques are applicable beyond LTE/LTE-A applications.

The detailed description set forth above in connection with the appendeddrawings describes examples and does not represent all of the examplesthat may be implemented or that are within the scope of the claims. Theterms “example” and “exemplary,” when used in this description, mean“serving as an example, instance, or illustration,” and not “preferred”or “advantageous over other examples.” The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of thedescribed techniques. These techniques, however, may be practicedwithout these specific details. In some instances, well-known structuresand devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuringthe concepts of the described examples.

Information and signals may be represented using any of a variety ofdifferent technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions,commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may bereferenced throughout the above description may be represented byvoltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles,optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

The various illustrative blocks and components described in connectionwith the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with ageneral-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, anFPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistorlogic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designedto perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processormay be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may beany conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or statemachine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination ofcomputing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor,multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunctionwith a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, softwareexecuted by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. Ifimplemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may bestored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are withinthe scope and spirit of the disclosure and appended claims. For example,due to the nature of software, functions described above can beimplemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware,hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementingfunctions may be physically located at various positions, includingbeing distributed such that portions of functions are implemented atdifferent physical locations. As used herein, including in the claims,the term “and/or,” when used in a list of two or more items, means thatany one of the listed items can be employed by itself, or anycombination of two or more of the listed items can be employed. Forexample, if a composition is described as containing components A, B,and/or C, the composition can contain A alone; B alone; C alone; A and Bin combination; A and C in combination; B and C in combination; or A, B,and C in combination. Also, as used herein, including in the claims,“or” as used in a list of items (for example, a list of items prefacedby a phrase such as “at least one of” or “one or more of”) indicates aninclusive list such that, for example, a phrase referring to “at leastone of” a list of items refers to any combination of those items,including single members. As an example, “at least one of: A, B, or C”is intended to cover A, B, C, A-B, A-C, B-C, and A-B-C, as well as anycombination with multiples of the same element (e.g., A-A A-A-A, A-A-B,A-A-C, A-B-B, A-C-C, B-B, B-B-B, B-B-C, C-C, and C-C-C or any otherordering of A, B, and C).

Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storagemedia and communication media including any medium that facilitatestransfer of a computer program from one place to another. Anon-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that can beaccessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way ofexample, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media cancomprise RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable read only memory(EEPROM), compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magneticdisk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any othernon-transitory medium that can be used to carry or store desired programcode means in the form of instructions or data structures and that canbe accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or ageneral-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection isproperly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the softwareis transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using acoaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line(DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave,then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, orwireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave areincluded in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein,include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD),floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce datamagnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.Combinations of the above are also included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media

As used herein, the phrase “based on” shall not be construed as areference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an exemplary stepthat is described as “based on condition A” may be based on both acondition A and a condition B without departing from the scope of thepresent disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase “basedon” shall be construed in the same manner as the phrase “based at leastin part on.”

The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable aperson skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Variousmodifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may beapplied to other variations without departing from the scope of thedisclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not to be limited to the examplesand designs described herein but is to be accorded the broadest scopeconsistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for wireless communication, comprising:receiving, during a first time period, a pre-scheduling message for adownlink transmission from a second device; transmitting, during asecond time period, a scheduling message to the second device inresponse to receiving the pre-scheduling message, the scheduling messagecomprising at least one parameter indicating an availability of a firstdevice for receiving the downlink transmission, wherein the first deviceis a user equipment (UE); and receiving, during a third time period, thedownlink transmission in accordance with the at least one parameter. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the first time period and the second timeperiod are within a same subframe.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein thefirst time period and the third time period are within a same subframe.4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: operating the first devicein a multi-connectivity mode using a plurality of radios of the firstdevice, wherein the at least one parameter identifies a subset of radiosof the plurality of radios.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein thepre-scheduling message identifies a transmission type, the methodfurther comprising: selecting the subset of radios based at least inpart on the transmission type.
 6. The method of claim 4, furthercomprising: identifying an availability of each radio in the subset ofradios; wherein the at least one parameter comprises the identifiedavailability of each radio in the subset of radios.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, wherein the identified availability of each radio in the subsetof radios comprises at least a time domain availability, or a frequencydomain availability, or a combination thereof.
 8. The method of claim 1,further comprising: communicating at the first device using a pluralityof radios and a plurality of radio access technologies of the firstdevice; and identifying an availability of at least one radio from theplurality of radios; wherein the at least one parameter comprises theidentified availability of the at least one radio from the plurality ofradios.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the identified availability ofthe at least one radio from the plurality of radios comprises at least atime domain availability, or a frequency domain availability, or acombination thereof.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the identifiedavailability of the at least one radio from the plurality of radios isbased at least in part on a scheduling or interference of at least oneother radio in the plurality of radios.
 11. The method of claim 1,wherein the downlink transmission is received over a backhaul link, themethod further comprising: operating the first device as a relay for atleast one access link; and identifying an availability of at least oneradio of the first device based at least in part on a scheduled use ofthe at least one access link; wherein the at least one parametercomprises the identified availability of the at least one radio.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the identified availability of the at leastone radio of the first device comprises at least a time domainavailability, or a frequency domain availability, or a combinationthereof.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the pre-scheduling messagecomprises a pilot signal, the method further comprising: estimating aninterference on a wireless channel based at least in part on the pilotsignal; and identifying the at least one parameter based at least inpart on the estimated interference.
 14. The method of claim 13, furthercomprising: estimating a duration of the interference; and identifyingthe at least one parameter based at least in part on the estimatedduration of the interference.
 15. The method of claim 1, whereinreceiving the pre-scheduling message comprises: receiving at least abuffer status of downlink traffic for the first device, or anidentification of a transmission type, or a restriction on schedulingthe downlink transmission, or a combination thereof.
 16. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one parameter comprises at least a radiorestriction, or a carrier restriction, or a time restriction, or afrequency restriction, or a modulation and coding scheme (MCS)restriction, or a beamforming restriction, or a combination thereof. 17.The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one parameter comprises atleast a carrier restriction, or a sub-band restriction, or a resourceblock restriction, or a combination thereof.
 18. The method of claim 1,wherein the at least one parameter comprises at least informationenabling the first device to satisfy a sleep schedule, or informationenabling the first device to satisfy a power usage ceiling, orinformation enabling the first device to defer use of a wideband datachain.
 19. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: meansfor receiving, during a first time period, a pre-scheduling message fora downlink transmission from a second device; means for transmitting,during a second time period, a scheduling message to the second devicein response to receiving the pre-scheduling message, the schedulingmessage comprising at least one parameter indicating an availability ofa first device for receiving the downlink transmission, wherein thefirst device is a user equipment (UE); and means for receiving, during athird time period, the downlink transmission in accordance with the atleast one parameter.
 20. An apparatus for wireless communication,comprising: a processor; memory in electronic communication with theprocessor; and instructions stored in the memory, the instructions beingexecutable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive, during afirst time period, a pre-scheduling message for a downlink transmissionfrom a second device; transmit, during a second time period, ascheduling message to the second device in response to receiving thepre-scheduling message, the scheduling message comprising at least oneparameter indicating an availability of a first device for receiving thedownlink transmission, wherein the first device is a user equipment(UE); and receive, during a third time period, the downlink transmissionin accordance with the at least one parameter.
 21. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing computer-executable code for wirelesscommunication, the code executable by a processor to: receive, during afirst time period, a pre-scheduling message for a downlink transmissionfrom a second device; transmit, during a second time period, ascheduling message to the second device in response to receiving thepre-scheduling message, the scheduling message comprising at least oneparameter indicating an availability of a first device for receiving thedownlink transmission, wherein the first device is a user equipment(UE); and receive, during a third time period, the downlink transmissionin accordance with the at least one parameter.
 22. A method for wirelesscommunication, comprising: transmitting, during a first time period, apre-scheduling message for a downlink transmission; receiving, during asecond time period, a scheduling message comprising at least oneparameter indicating an availability of a first device for receiving thedownlink transmission, wherein the first device is a user equipment(UE); and transmitting, during a third time period, the downlinktransmission to the first device in accordance with the at least oneparameter.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the first time period andthe second time period are within a same subframe.
 24. The method ofclaim 22, wherein the first time period and the third time period arewithin a same subframe.
 25. The method of claim 22, further comprising:transmitting the downlink transmission upon determining that the atleast one parameter can be satisfied.
 26. The method of claim 22,wherein the pre-scheduling message comprises at least a buffer status ofdownlink traffic for the first device, or a transmission type, or arestriction on scheduling the downlink transmission, or a combinationthereof.
 27. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: meansfor transmitting, during a first time period, a pre-scheduling messagefor a downlink transmission; means for receiving, during a second timeperiod, a scheduling message comprising at least one parameterindicating an availability of a first device for receiving the downlinktransmission, wherein the first device is a user equipment (UE); andmeans for transmitting, during a third time period, the downlinktransmission to the first device in accordance with the at least oneparameter.
 28. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: aprocessor; memory in electronic communication with the processor; andinstructions stored in the memory, the instructions being executable bythe processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit, during a first timeperiod, a pre-scheduling message for a downlink transmission; receive,during a second time period, a scheduling message comprising at leastone parameter indicating an availability of a first device for receivingthe downlink transmission, wherein the first device is a user equipment(UE); and transmit, during a third time period, the downlinktransmission to the first device in accordance with the at least oneparameter.
 29. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storingcomputer-executable code for wireless communication, the code executableby a processor to: transmit, during a first time period, apre-scheduling message for a downlink transmission; receive, during asecond time period, a scheduling message comprising at least oneparameter indicating an availability of a first device for receiving thedownlink transmission, wherein the first device is a user equipment(UE); and transmit, during a third time period, the downlinktransmission to the first device in accordance with the at least oneparameter.